Ghosts of the Past
by addicted2airwolf
Summary: story 8. While the team is still recovering from the latest incident, they're visited from someone of Saint John's past, someone they would have rather never heard from again...
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

The sun dawned from the east, casting a warm orange glow over the waves that lapped at his bare feet. Not too bad for a mandatory vacation, Hawke though to himself wryly. He told himself he would have been just as happy at the cabin, not to mention closer to home if anything were to happen, but at times he wondered if that was true. He liked the cabin, wasn't planning on leaving it anytime soon, but this was certainly a nice change. He was even tempted to try the surf and he hadn't even touched a surf board in years. Vaguely he wondered how well that would go; he had only recently gotten the cast off his leg and was still plenty sore from his last mishap. If his doctor had much say in the matter he wouldn't even be here at the moment. But then Dom had stepped in, a grumpy Dom was definitely a forced to be reckoned with. His choice had been an involuntary vacation to Hawaii with Cait and Le as chaperons or rehab. Of the two he didn't find it a particularly difficult choice. Maybe he would attempt it, if no other reason then just to see if he could.

"Uncle String," Le called as he ran towards him, only having been up about ten minutes and already in his swimsuit. "We're going to the beach today, right?"

"Yeah," he answered, tearing his gaze away from the sunrise. "I was thinking maybe we could try our hand at surfing today."

\A/

Glancing at the clock on the wall as it slowly ticked on Dominic Santini realized he could sympathize with his surrogate son's impatience and desire to get back in the air. And to think, he had almost given it up for good years ago. Now he couldn't wait to get back up. But, he would be willing to do a lot of things to get away from this paperwork. It wasn't adding up again and with the bills that still needed to be paid he knew it was only going to get worse. String's donations had improved thins for a while, but it was only throwing money at a bottomless pit; he wasn't too keen on the idea either despite String's continuing reassurance it was alright. Being realistic, he wasn't so sure himself. The business had weathered tough times before, but not like this. The closest was undoubtedly just after String had followed his brother off to Vietnam, and even then if he had known he probably would have sent every bit of pay he could get out of the Army back home. He wasn't looking for charity, he just wanted enough business to get by without having to scrounge every time something went wrong. Or for that matter, when things were going right.

Dropping his pencil on the desk, he heaved himself out of the chair and hobbled across the room to the fridge and pulled out a cold beer.

"Well, there is a perk to this," he said aloud, "I don't have to wait eight hours to fly. The downside is that even after eight hours I still can't fly."

Setting down the bottle, he looked back at the desk and shook his head. It could wait; he was off to see how his other boy was doing.

\A/

"Do you think I'm a crazy?" Saint John asked of his attending nurse.

She didn't reply. Truthfully she didn't know how to. Without all the drugs he was on maybe he was a really nice guy, maybe he wasn't; she didn't know him well enough to say. With them he was unpredictable, that was about all she could think of to describe him.

It was cases like this one that made her wonder how she ended up at the FIRM's clinic though' it was exactly why she left the VA. She had plenty of respect for the ones willing to put their lives on the line for God and country but it was ripping her apart seeing some of them as messed up as they were and being unable to do anything about it. Somehow she had ended up here though. The only major difference dealing with spooks was the chances of them actually making it back for medical care was slimmer; the injuries weren't necessarily any less serious though, that much was for sure.

"Why don't you talk to me any more, Cindy?" he questioned.

"I'm Abigail, not Cindy," she corrected. Not Amy, Kate, or Ana either. She could say for sure whether he couldn't remember her name just decided to choose one or did it on purpose, but either way it was quickly wearing through whatever effect his charm might have on her.

"I'm sorry. I could take you somewhere for lunch to make up for it," he offered.

"Maybe another time. I don't think you're going anywhere for a quite a while, buddy."

"I could share my chicken broth," he tried again, using a forced smile in an attempt to smother the grimace of pain that briefly crossed his face, a reminder to her it was about time for his meds again.

As if reading her thoughts, he spoke up. "Hold off on the medicine for a while."

"You really don't want me to do that. If I cut enough of them out you'll be able to feel your arms and legs again and that won't be such a good thing."

"It would be refreshing. If I'm going to feel drunk and hungover I might as well be, at least get the pleasure of a little scotch."

"You're on the verge of overdose as it is; you'd probably die of alcohol poisoning before you could get rid of the pain."

"At least cut down on them then. I can live with a little pain. My brother is playing in the sand and sun of Hawaii right now and I'd like to join him sometime soon."


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

"I didn't peg you for much of the surfer type but you're actually not bad for your first time," Hawke complimented as Caitlin paddled back next to him.

"I didn't figure you were going to wait up on me and if you're going to go get yourself eaten by a shark I wanted to be there to-"

"So come and save the day again?"

"No, I was going to say to watch."

"That's not very nice," he said, sending a splash of water her way.

"Well what do you expect me to do? I'm more of a pony-riding chopper pilot that surfer-save people from getting eaten kind of person, remember?"

"I'll keep that one in mind when it decides to have you as an appetizer."

"Here's a good wave coming, come on, let's see who can ride it the longest before falling off."

"You're on, but with our luck it'll be Le."

\a/

"Hey you," the man walking up from the grey Cadillac called. "Where's my money?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play stupid with me, old man. I've been calling al day and you've been avoiding my calls. Javier may think he's upper class and can go around me but it's not so. I'm moving up and someone is going to have to start coughing up some money."

"Well it's not me. I don't even know who this Javier guy you're talking about, not that I have any money anyway. The business is about to go under as it is," Dominic retorted, uneasily trying to figure out who this man was.

"Business going under? Ha. Yeah, bad like it was when we first started in Cambodia/ Stop trying to play funny and give me the money or the goods. Your choice but I want them now."

"I don't have them," Dom insisted.

"Have them by tomorrow," the man ordered, slamming a fist into his gut hard enough to knock him off his feet, "or I won't be so gentle." Irritated, he stomped back to the car. "Remember, tomorrow. No excuses. I don't care if your man Saint John ran off with them or smoked it all himself, I will get one or the other by tomorrow."

Alone again, a very confused Dominic struggled back to his feet even more determined to see Saint John. Something was going on and he didn't like it. He did aim to find out what it was though.

As he climbed into the jeep and pulled out, he tried to put the pieces together and figure what his uninvited visitor had been referring to.

_Back in Cambodia…._

_Business bad? Ha._

…_your man Saint John…_

Mercenary maybe? It made sense except for the 'goods' part and Saint John being involved. Some time back String had mentioned the possibility y of working with some of the mercs, but he had denied it, knowing Saint John couldn't do that any more than String could, not the Saint John he knew. He had spent a long time over there, but his sense of morals wouldn't change that much, Would they?

He pressed harder on the gas pedal, eager to find answer to his questions while still denying every possibility that came to mind. He didn't believe Saint John would get caught up in those kinds of things, but they obviously knew him and had gone to the trouble of finding him, that sounded serious enough.

\A/

Dripping, Le followed the other two into the hotel room, found a towel and began to dry off.

"Some day, huh?"

"It's not over yet. They're having a luau next door tonight."

"I take it you want to go?"

"When in Hawaii…"

"He laughed and shook his head. "Alright, as long as I don't have to wear a coconut bra."

"We might let you slide this time," Caitlin replied with a mischievous smirk, "but what you do after a couple piña coladas is on your own head."

"Note to self, stay away from Cait, piña coladas, and coconuts… is there even a reason why I'm going?"

"Of course. You can learn to hula and pose so I can send pictures back to Dom of you in a grass skirt."

"I think not."

"Come on, String, lighten up a little. It's not like you're likely to see anyone you know, probably won't ever seen any of them again either."

"You never know. I did make it back to Hawaii for an R&R during my first tour."

"No offense, but I doubt they would be able to pick you out from any of the other hundreds of GIs that came through."

"I don't know, Cait. I'm kind of tired from surfing all afternoon. I did just get out of the hospital, I'll remind you."

"And if Dom hadn't insisted you come here you would be trying to convince us you were all healed and ready to fly across the country again. Am I wrong?"

"No," he admitted, "probably not."

"Good, it's settled then. And if you're on your best behavior I might even let you buy a nice, tropical print shirt and wear it to the party. Maybe even without a grass skirt."


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

"What do you mean I can't see him?" Dom demanded.

"I'm sorry Mr. Santini, but he's sleeping and we've been trying all afternoon to have him get some rest. He won't take anything help him sleep and has been insistent on talking every nurse here's ear off."

"I didn't get punch in the stomach to be told I couldn't see him, let me through," he ordered.

"Punched- don't you-"

"It's between me and him right now, now if you'll excuse me…"

Their argument was abruptly interrupted by shouts from behind the door, the nurse being startled long enough Dom could shove by.

"Get them off, get them off!" Saint John yelled, trying to shake off an invisible pest. "Spiders, get them off!"

"Saint John," Dom coaxed, trying to wake him. "It's alright, it's alright.

He grew suddenly still for several minutes before starting up again.

"Get away from me with that. Go away. Biến mất."

Again Dominic tried to wake him with little more luck.

"Take it away, I'll do it."

"Saint John, it's me Dom. You're at the FIRM clinic, not over there."

Gradually his surroundings became clear and the nightmare melted away.

"Just a bad dream," Dom said.

"Just a dream," Saint John repeated, "just a dream."

"You want to tell me what it was about?"

Saint John shook his head. "Not just a dream, real."

"Nah, you've been here all along. I've been right here beside you."

"It happened. It's real."

"What happened? What was real?"

"I did it, I took it and ran."

_Saint John Hawke, Captain, United States Army…"_

"_Yeah, yeah. Enough of the Geneva convention crap. I have a job for you, Hawke. You've made it clear you don't want to be here and quite frankly you're a pain. I'm going to give you an opportunity better than you deserve though. You deliver certain goods where I tell you - back to the states- and when you return I'll pay you. That simple."_

"_Yeah, right," he scoffed. "Why would I come back?"_

"_So you can get paid. There really isn't anything waiting for you over there anyway, but when you come back you get your money and more to take back; when you return there will be more money waiting on you."_

"_Sounds too easy."_

"_It is easy. If you do exactly as I told you, I will do what I said. If you don't' you will be subject to whatever treatment I feel you deserve and all the pesky creatures that live in that little bamboo box with you. If you try to take the goods and run, I will hunt you down and kill you. So what is your answer?"_

"_Let me think about it."_

"_I want an answer," Nien Quan Thuc demanded._

"_You're asking me to make a life changing choice here, pal. I need a while to think on it."_

"_A while you shall have."_

_**One month later…**_

_It was infected, no doubt about it. He looked at the gash running down his leg, the sole prize he had received during his latest escape attempt. It was deep, infected, and he couldn't even sleep anymore half the time because he was burning up with fever. He needed help soon or he would loose the leg, maybe more…._

"_Get out," his captor ordered, pulling him by the collar. "You make a choice yet?"_

"_Yeah, I'll do it."_


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

It made sense now. Lien Quan Thuc's threat to hunt him down hadn't been an empty one, and now they had a Cambodia opium dealer to deal with. Saint John had agreed to the job, taken the drugs and run for freedom, his only hope being that he could stay off his captor's scope for good. He rand straight into a group of VC soldiers. Taken captive again, h lost the opium and his freedom. Intelligence had gotten it right finally, and Airwolf had picked him up, a task much easier said than done. He had escaped the source of his problems only to have them follow him home.

"What are we going to do about it? I don't have the stuff anymore, certainly don't have that much money."

"We'll figure something out," Dominic assured him.

"There isn't time to figure out something," Saint John argued. "He wants it by tomorrow and he's not going to take no for an answer."

"There has to be some other way."

"Only thing I can think of is to send me back over there."

"No, out of the questions, for a multitude of reasons."

"Dom, you have to. None of us have the money and if we don't give him something he'll kill us all."

"My feelings apart, if I let you go String will have my head. That aside, you need to stay and heal. Neither one of us is any shape to be mounting a war, but if it is a war that must be fought then we might as well go out in a blaze of glory." "Are you sure you want to get involved in this? It's my war, not yours."

"I think I'm already involved, might as well be all the way."

"Go home and try to sleep then; we'll come up with something in the morning then before they show up."

\A/

"What do you want? I'm not due to check-in for another three minutes and I could use the time," Lexa Cole answered from the other end of the satellite phone, shouting to be heard over the gunfire.

"I was hoping to ask for a favor," Saint John said.

Realizing it wasn't Michael, she laid down another line of fire and returned with "who are you?"

"Saint John Hawke."

"Hawke? Why the hell would _you _be calling me?"

"Saint John, Hawke's brother."

"Sorry, but I'm a bit busy at the moment. I'll get back to you in about seven minutes." Without waiting for conformation, she ended the call.

Tossing two grenades the way she had just come, she ran in the opposite directions until she heard the screams as her foes found her little present.

Satisfied, she made her way to the other side of the sand dune and called Saint John back.

"What did you want?"

"Some advice. I heard you were one of the FIRM's best and though maybe you could help."

"Good to hear my reputation precedes me. What is the problem?" "I have a Cambodian opium dealer coming to visit me tomorrow to collect several kilos of opium or the money for it. If I don't have it he's going to kill me. And I don't have it."

"That'd be too easy. I could take care of your problem if I was in the vicinity. I'll see if I can hijack a Sukhoi Su-25 and make it there in time. If not, find something that would pass visibly and pack it up with a couple blocks of C-4 or a claymore underneath, wired to go off kind of like a trip. Mad because it's not the real think or fooled, chances are he'll pick up a bag and he'll be blown shy high when he does. Just be sure you aren't nearby when he goes to check it out if you plan on living to the storm coming your way later in the week. I'm kind of liking this hijacking idea though and my vacation time is about up anyway… I ought to be able to make it in time. Have the thing set up and I'll be by tomorrow to see what I can do to help."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Oh, and is it true your brother is hiding out in Hawaii?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I just thought I might drop in on him if I had a little extra time, be a good friend and such."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate that," Saint John replied sarcastically.

"That's what I thought. Well, have to find a plane to hijack. Lexa out."


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

"Saint John," Dominic called out as he swung the wide hospital door open, "we need a plan now. I thin they tailed me here from y apartment which means they'll be knocking down the door any minute."

"It's alright, I took care of the planning." He handed over a list he had written on the back of his napkin and gave brief directions.

"I'll get started now then."

"I'll try to stall them as long as I can," he agreed, "and Dom…"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful."

\A/

Warm sand between their toes, Stringfellow and Le van Hawke walked along the beach in their bare feet, enjoying the quiet peacefulness of the early morning after the much less so luau the evening before. They were slowly inching closer to the water, an occasional odd wave making it all the way up to them and lapping over their feet, when a foreign aircraft shot across the air mere feet above the deck.

"What was that?" Le asked.

It shouldn't have been that low whatever it was, Hawke observed, didn't even look American, although it was headed toward the base. "I'm not real sure." Russian maybe? Perhaps a Su-25? What would it be doing here though?

"Come on, Le, let's get out of here." Su-25s, if that was what it was, weren't naturally friendly and if it _wasn't _here on a goodwill mission he didn't want to be around to find out what it _was _here for.

The jet made a second pass, confirming his suspicions about it being a Su, although this time it passed upside down.

"Looks more like it's trying to put on a show than do any harm," Le commented as the Su-25 began a series of snap rolls then came back around, repeating the routine inverted.

"Yeah," he agreed, still none too excited about the idea of sticking around, yet his curiosity threatened to get the better of him. "But we still probably should get the heck out of dodge."

\A/

"You are not authorized to land here," the tower control warned. "State your intentions and back off or we'll take you down."

"My intention is to land. I can do it here or I can ditch it in the ocean, your choice. I just thought you might like a little gift."

"What do you mean by _gift_?"

"The Sukhoi Su-25 from Uzbekistan, of course, I have no further use for it. If you don't want to take a look at it though, I'll happily dispose of it for you."

"Stand by."

"No," Lexa refused. "I don't want to stand by. I've been standing by for the last twenty minutes while you landed all your planes; I even put on a show for the beach goers, but I'm tired and I'm on a tight time schedule. Find me somewhere to land or I'll park this thing right on the beach."

"I'm getting the general on the line now if you'll hold on."

"Forget it. There's plenty of room and you're being idiots about it. If you want this bird you can go get it off the beach."

Making a minimum radius turn, she brought the aircraft around for a low pass, buzzing the control tower and nosing further downward as she neared the beach and landed in an open space the terrified beach goers had evacuated.

"Nice of them to make room for me," Lexa said to herself as she removed her helmet and shut down the engines, climbing out to reveal herself to a growing crowd of shocked onlookers.

Uncaring of the strange looks she was getting, she continued up the beach in search of Hawke.

"Look!" Le said, stopping in their travels down the road. "There's the person who was flying. She juts landed on the middle of the beach, and I think I've seen her before."

Curious, String cast a quick look back, surprised at what he saw. The Su-25 sat on the beach, half of it in the shallow part of the water, and Lexa was following them at some distance down the beach.

"Why the hell is she here?" he muttered. Wasn't she supposed to be on 'vacation; or something halfway around the world? Anywhere but here?

"Hawke, Le, there you are," Lexa called out, jogging up the beach.

"Oh no, here we go again." Lexa was in one of those moods that outwardly overflowed happiness while anyone who knew her knew that she just wanted to make their lives miserable.

"Hi Lexa," he returned the greeting without even trying to make it _look _like he was glad to see her. "What brings you here? I thought you were on vacation somewhere else - Uzbekistan maybe."

"I was. I even made a couple side trips to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, but vacation time only lasts so long before you have to go back to work."

"Even if your work and vacation is the same thing?"

"There are more differences than you probably realize. I _work_ for the FIRM; on _vacation_ I …freelance…. for myself. Enough about me though, I came to talk about you and your family."

"What are you doing down here when Dom and Saint John are in danger of getting themselves killed? I thought you were determined to be everyone's hero despite what might be going on in your own life. If you think you can save them when you're shot and about to bleed out, you ought to at least try to be of some help when you aren't. Although it that's too complicated for you, I could make the necessary changes in your condition…"


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

"Exactly what kind of danger are they in?"

"Never mind that, I can tell you on the way there. Did you bring your lady friend?"

"Cait's in-"

"Not Caitlin," she interrupted. "She might be of some use, but I mean the _other _Lady."

"No. I'm on vacation, Lexa, not trying to take out Communist Bloc Russia. If you remember, our ideas of vacation are a little different."

"I would have still brought it, if nothing else, you can avoid the luggage checks at the airport."

"They aren't so bad when you aren't carrying eight different weapons on your person."

"I'm down to six, thank you," she retorted matter-of-factly.

"Only six?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Well, if you don't count the C-4 in my purse, but that's not really _on _my person…. You know, it's a shame we won't all fit in the Su-25," she said, changing the subject. "I was kind of counting on you bringing that monster helicopter of yours. You better hope the airport has some empty seats on the next flight to California or we might have to set up a full scale hostile takeover.

\A/

"Something that looks like opium," Dominic said aloud as he rummaged through the cabinets. "There has to be something somewhere…" Then it occurred to him none of this was going to work anyway. The next thing on the list was C-4 or a mortar, and it wasn't like he could go borrow something like that from his next door neighbor, Where was he supposed to get something like that?

Abandoning his hunt, he dialed the number to the hospital, determined to find out what had given Saint John this half-though plan in the first place.

"Hello?" Saint John answered after the second ring.

"Where did you get this crazy idea?! I don't regularly stock explosives in my pantry, and as far as I know, neither do you. Where am I supposed to get this stuff, especially on such short notice?"

"I don't know; I didn't think about. Lexa just said it should work and I accepted that. It never occurred to me we don't have the same resources. I was pretty out of it yesterday too…"

"Well since we don't have them, what _are _we going to do?

\A/

"I told you that you would never get away," Thuc sneered as he took a good look at Saint John. "Risk your life for freedom and this is what you get. See, you didn't really have it as bad as you thought when you were with me. I just wish I could have been a part in this, at least watched. I heard about it though. Yes, Cam had had visions of this ever since that troublesome brother of your got away. I wouldn't have failed, but watching you all suffer has been quite entertaining. You've cost me too much trouble to let you go free though, so would you like me to rip you apart before or after you tell me where you have my money hidden?"

"I don't have any money, raw goods only, and it's not here."

"Oh? Where then?"

"Hidden in a chest in the woods a few miles away."

"Hawke," Thuc pinned him with all the mercilessness he used to when he was in captivity, able to torture with just a look an occasional word, a continuing silent threat. "The Saint John Hawke I know is smarter than that, much more creative. It's only been a few months and you're already forgetting how to lie convincingly, sad."

"No, you're wrong there," Saint John disagreed, sticking to his story. "No one would believe it was that easy, you're proof that theory worked. You could kill me now, get the goods, and probably cross the border before the police figure out what's going on."

"Why would you make it so easy? You're smarter than that, and if you have that much of a death wish, you could have ended this struggle years ago."

"I told you the truth," Saint John continued. "Kill me and risk loosing your money if I lied, or find the good and risk me disappearing in the meantime, it's your choice."

"Your mental warfare isn't going to work on me, Hawke," Thuc warned. "I'm going to get it, then I'm going to cut you apart, one piece at a time. It's amazing how long the human body can linger between life and death, you know. I could drag it out for hours, days even; all the while you'll be begging me to just end it, knowing that if only you had listened to me in the first place you could be enjoying your freedom and lots of money." He turned slowly to leave, an evil grin spreading across his thin lips as he thought of the fun he was going to have. It was almost worth taking his chances just to start now.

\A/

Usually not one to allow his age get in the way of things, even Dominic Santini was beginning to concede there were some things a man his age shouldn't be doing. Getting into a chopper and flying cross country was not one of those things. Sitting in a tree with a shotgun waiting on a greedy drug runner for two hours however, was probably on that list.

At last, he heard the rustle of leaves, and sat up, positioning the gun, and praying it would be over soon. The approaching person was wearing a foreign military uniform, but the desert colors instead of the jungle green and the long blond hair told him this wasn't his target. Just what he needed, he thought disdainfully, interference.

Slender fingers slid into the chest around the outside, slowly lifting up one bag at a time with the utmost care. When the woman pulled two blocks of C-4 out of her purse, he no longer had any doubt it was Lexa, but sat a moment longer to watch her work. After attaching a remote detonator, she began to lay each bag carefully back where it had been and took a step back to admire her handiwork for a brief moment before turning to call her hidden onlooker.

"If you don't want to be going up flames with them, I suggest you climb down and take cover," she cautioned.

"You don't have to tell me twice."

"There _might _have been an accident or two on the way over here, reckless driving probably, but that won't hold them off forever."


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

Nien Quan Thuc approached the chest carefully, almost believe thing Saint John had been telling the truth. It was still too easy, but given his current state, maybe he hadn't been able to do any better.

Scanning his surroundings for any telltale sign something was awry, he found none. Cautiously looking for any other outside defense, that might hinder him from getting the prize he sought, he finally deemed it safe enough and slowly opened the lid. Inside was what he had crossed the ocean to get back, a fortune, all neatly tucked into a wooden chest. At least that was what it was supposed to be. He wasn't stupid though, and Saint John had played him like a fool.

Opium? Ha. This was merely a bad imitation.

Anger boiling through his veins, he threw the powder-filled bag to ground, only then realizing what he had gotten himself into as he caught a glimpse of one of several blocks of C-4.

Attempting to make what he already knew to be an impossible escape, he foot hadn't even hit the ground before the detonator went off and a mass of flaming, greedy tongues of fire ate up everything in its path in a massive explosion.

Raining remnants of burning chunks of wood showered the ground around where Dominic and Lexa some distance away.

"Think it was big enough?" Dom asked sarcastically.

"It will suffice," she answered, obviously not finding her enormous explosion in any way excessive. "I was thinking I should start carrying more C-4 though."

\A/

Guard duty at a hospital was not a fun thing to do. Mostly it was boring and smelled like latex and medicine, not to mention the massive panic that ensued in most hospitals if anyone saw even a glimmer of what might to be a gun. Unfortunately, it was necessary evil. If Lexa's plan failed or Thuc had brought more guys they could have a serious problem on their hands. And a hospital really was an ideal place for them to cause one such problem.

"You don't have to stand over me like that. It's a FIRM hospital, you know, with guards and stuff," Saint John interrupted his thoughts. "You could go get some coffee, maybe a bite a to eat. At least take a seat and pretend to watch some TV."

"I'm fine. I probably don't even need to be here."

"You don't believe that though."

"What do you mean? Dom and Lexa will take care of your drug runner and everything is good. I'm here on a purely precautionary basis."

"That's why you look like there's about to be an armed invasion, right? I may have been gone for a while, but I'm not stupid. And you really are that obvious."

"It probably isn't anything, but it wouldn't be the first time we thought we had solved the problem and didn't. I'm just trying to keep you safe and do what I'm told."

"Do what you were told? Since when? Who is this overpowering person that you actually listen to them?"

"Don't say it like that. Please."

"Lexa, huh? You know, from what I've seen she's not all bad. A little too attached to her job maybe, but a good person nonetheless."

"The jury is still out on that one," String disagreed, "and will continue to be for a while. She has her moments, I'll give you that. I just remember falling for the same thing I think you are now - thinking she's on your side for better or worse, that she has your back, and then her going off and doing something completely off the wall. At one point I even thought I liked her, and she was someone who could take care of herself at the same time… I though that, well you know…"

"That maybe the you two could end up together?" Saint John finished.

"I did entertain the idea for a little while. What happened though was worse than just a bad break up."

"It's still possible though."

"No, not now. It's for the better this way; I doubt we would have been able to make it long term anyway, even if I wanted to, I'm not sure I could bring myself to fully trust her now. I can't stop you, and if you want her, you can have her. Just make sure you bring your helmet and flak jacket along for the ride."

"Good guys - one, baddies -zero," Lexa Cole announced as she entered Saint John's room abruptly. "I'm on my way to be debriefed on last month's mission, but I though I would deliver the news. It appears your drug runner problems are over; I suggest avoiding those type of situations whenever possible though. Those kind tend to run in packs."

"I'll take that under advisement," Saint John agreed, "and thank you for the help. I'm not sure how we would have managed without you."

"Dom would have been alright, I'm sure. I think he appreciated me shortening his time spent in the tree though. Speaking of which, Dom should be along in a moment, stopped by the bathroom to clean up or something to that likeness. Personally, I like to show up for debriefings beforehand - makes it look like you actually put a little effort into it, they tend to be shorter that way too." She gave them a mischievous grin and turned to leave, striding purposefully down the hallway and beyond the double doors that separated the clinic from the rest of the FIRM building.

"Dom?" String finally spoke his thoughts. "When did _she _start calling him _Dom_?"

"Get used to it, String. Whether you like it or not, I think she's planning on sticking around for a while."


End file.
